Improvement in button-working machines



2 Sheets-Sheet I .P.LOBP ER. Button-Working Machine.

' No. 222,923. Patented Dec; 23,1879.

N. PEI'EBQ PNDTO-LITHOGRAPNER. WASHINGTON, D C

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

F. LOEPER. Button-Working; Machine.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

FELIX LOEPER, OF SGHONEBEQK, PRUSSIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BUTTON-WORKING MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222.923, dated December 23, 1879; application filed November 4, 187B patented in Germany, March 29, 1878; patented in England, October 18, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FELIX LOEPER, of

cation.

The object of my invention is to so construct amachine for cutting, dressing, or forming and polishing buttons of bone and other materials that the button-blanks will be fed to the holder or chuck, turned or cut and polished and ejected from the chuck automatically; and. this object I attain in the manner which I will now proceed to describe, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a front view of the machine, partly in section; Fig. 2, a side view of the same. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, shows an enlarged side view and plan view of the feeding-carriage; Fig. 4, similar side and plan views of a modified form of carriage; Fig. 5, an enlarged view of the chuck for holding the but ton-blanks to be dressed; Fig. 6, aside view and face view of the carrier with the polishing-tool; Fig. 7, a diagram, showing the form of the cam for operating the carrier and the polishing-tool; and Fig. 8, an enlarged view, partly in section, of the polishing-tool.

X is the frame of the machine, to guides in which is adapted the vertically-sliding toolcarrier G, having at its lower end a holder for the reception of the cutting-tool, of the requisite shape, the holder being arranged vertically in line above the rotating chuck (l, in which the button to be dressed is held.

The spindle E of the chuck is adapted to stationary hearings in the frame of the machine, and a rotary motion is imparted to it from any suitable driving appliance by means of a belt passing round the pulley F.

On the upper end of the carrier G are two pins, g g, adapted to embrace a cairrflange, g, on the drum L, by which a peculiar risingandfalling motion is imparted to the tool-carrier, as described hereinafter. This drum is operated from the driving-shaft H, having the belt-pulleys H H, through the medium of the bevel-wheels J K. I

To horizontal ways a a, Fig. 2, at the rear of the frame, near the upper end of the chuck, are adapted the rollers a, a of the feed-carriage A, containing the supply of buttonblanks to be dressed, and having automatic feeding devices, as more fully described hereinafter.

(lords s, passing over pulleys t and carrying weights .9, and attached to the carriage A, tend to draw it toward the chuck O; but-the carriage is moved back by a cam on the horizontal shaft P acting on a tappet, a on the said carriage, as shown in the enlarged view,

Fig. 3. This shaft P has at opposite ends cranks O and 0, connected by rods 1- r to cranks N N on the shaft M, near the upper end of the frame, this shaft being operated from the wheel- K by the wheel I and suitable gearing.

The shaft P is so operated in relation to the drum L that while the carrier G is holding its cutter down in contact with the button-blank in the rotating chuck the carriage is held by the cam on the shaft 1? away from the chuck, but when the carrier and cutter are raised the carriage A is advanced until its forward end is immediately over the center of the chuck,-

when, by devices described hereinafter, a button-blank is placed in the jaws of the chuck, from which the finished button has just been ejected. The carriage is then withdrawn by its cam, the carrier G descends, and its cutter, as the chuck is rapidly rotated, dresses the button to the desired shape, and then is again raised.

The detailed construction of the feed-carriage is shown in Fig.3.

0n the center of the frame carrying the rollers a a is an inclined rail, b, having throughout its length a groove, b, for the reception of the button-blanks, which are retained in the groove by the plates 0 0, arranged so as to leave a central slit for an examination of the blanks as they are fed forward. Near the lower end of the rail is the delivery mech' anism, consisting of two spring-pins, cl and g,

one or other of which is adapted to be depressed into the groove 1), in the way of the buttons, by the rocking cam-lever 0, whose normal position, under the action of the sprin g f, is that shown in Fig. 3. k

At the bottom of the groove in the rail is a vertical opening of the shape of the buttonblank, and immediately above this opening is arranged a plunger, h, carried by one arm of a lever, D, pivoted at d to the carriage, the other arm of the lever being acted on by a spring, 61

Referring to the enlarged view, Fig. 5, it will be observed that the chuck 0 consists of a hollow cone with a recess, i, at its upper end for the reception ofthe button-blank, and having two vertical slits, n n, at right angles to each other, so as to form a series of four jaws. Over this cone fits a sleeve or ring, 0, carrying atransverse steel strip, 1), adapted to one of the slits n in the cone.

WVhen the sleeve 0 is-pressed downward on the cone the jaws or fingers formed by the slits are pressed toward each other and grasp the button-blank in the recess 77, while on the rising of the ring the jaws are released and the strip 19 ejects the button.

The ring 0, which rotates with the chuck, is raised and lowered by the following devices: To the annular groove, formed by two collars on this sleeve, are adapted anti-friction rollers 4 y, having bearings in cross-piec;- 0, forming part of a frame, Q, which carries sockets n n, adapted to vertical rods n 11 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This frame Q is connected to the long arm of a weighted lever, B, pivoted to the frame X, while on the short arm of the lever bears a cam on the shaft 1?, so as to raise the frame Q, and sleeve 0, and consequently open the chuck when the cutter rises, and just before the front end of the carriage is brought in line wit-h said chuck.

The operation of the machine is as follows: Supposing the parts to be in the positions shown in Fig. 2, and the carrier G and cutting-tool rising from the chuck, the carriage A, with its groove 1) full of button-blanks, will advance toward the chuck, under the action of the weights 8, as the corresponding cam on the rotating shaft P withdraws. At the moment when the vertical opening in the lower end of the rail 1) is brought in line with the center of the chuck the lever e strikes a projection on some stationary part of the frame X, so as to allow the spring-pin d, Fig. 3, to rise and let the first button-blank escape, and at the same time cause the pin g to be depressed and to retain the succeeding blank as long as the pin d is raised. The arm of the lever D which is acted on by the spring d has meanwhile been struck by a cam on the rotating shaft P, so as to cause the depression of the plunger h, which thus forces the button-blank into the'recess t' of the chuck C, Fig. 5. The carriage then retires, the lever e and pins d g returning to the positions shown in F1 3, and the sleeve 0 is forced down on the conical chuck by the action of the weighted lever B and frame Q, so as to cause the jaws of the chuck, which have remained partly open, to tightly grasp the button-blank. Then the tool-carrier G descends until the cutter comes in contact with the button-blank, against which the cutter is held for a short time, while the chuckcarrying the buttonblankis rapidly rotated. When thebutton has been thus dressed or turned to the proper form the tool-carrier rises under the action of the cam-wheel L. and the cam 011 the shaft 1? so acts on the short arm of the weighted lever It as to raise the frame Q and sleeve 0, and consequently, by means of the cross-stripp, to eject the button. The chuck is then ready for I he reception ofanotherbutton-bla1'1k,which is automatically inserted in the chuck, dressed, and ejected in the manner described.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a modified form of feed-carriage A, which has the same inclined rail b, with groove 1), and the same construction of frame and lever l) and its connections; but for the plates 0 0 I substitute in this case a bar, 70, arranged centrally in the groove Z). This bar 76 has at each end an inclined slot, I, through which passes a transverse pin carried by studs on the rail b. On the bar k are also two lugs, m m, through which and an intervening nut passes a screwbolt, m, secured to the rail 1), so that by operating this nut the bar It may be elevated or depressed, as the thickness of the button-blank may require. The delivery devices d e f g are in this case arranged on the lower side of the .rail I), and there are two sets of spring-pins,

d g, one on each side of the bar 7c, as indicated in the plan view, Fig. 4. The several parts operate in the same manner as those illustrated in Fi 3.

After the blank has been cut or dressed by .means of the devices described, it is ready to v5, for holding the button, and the same carrier Gfor holding the polishing-tool, with some additional devices, as shown in Fig. 6.

On the lower end. of the carrier G are se- 0 u red arm s h h carryin g a bearin g, If, adapted to receive and maintain at an angle the spherical holder h, in which is secured the polishing-brush Y, Fig. 8. To the holder h is secured a ratchetwheel, '11, and between this ratchetwheel and the bearing 1& is a spiral spring for keeping the holder in position.

The button is supplied to the chuck and ejected therefrom in the manner described above, and while the chuck, holding the button, rapidly rotates, the depression of the carrier G by the cam-wheel L brings the edge of the brush Y in contact with the button, and thus gives the lat-ter the desired polish.

In order to prevent the wearing of the brush at one point, I impart an intermittent rotary motion to it by thefollowin g devices: Through lugs q q in the carrier passes the vertical rod 7", having at the lower end a spring-pawhj adapted to the ratchet i, and a presser, 7' immediately over the end of the brush.

Between an adjustable collar on the rod and the lower bearing, q, is a spiral spring, which tends to raise the rod j,- but the latter is intermittently depressed by the action on a nose, j, at the upper end of the rod j, of a series I of inclined projections or teeth on the under in combination with a horizontal rotating camwheel for imparting motion to said carrier toward and from the chuck, substantially as described. i

2. The combination of the cutter and chuck with atravelin g carriage, A, for automatically supplying button-blanks to the chuck.

3. The combination of the chuck-carriage A, having the inclined grooved rail and plunger h, as set forth.

4. The combination of the inclined grooved rail, with spring-pins d g, and the cam-lever 6, provided with a spring, f.

5. The within-described chuck, consisting of the conical jaws and sleeve 0, provided with the cross-strip 1), adapted topass between said aws.

6. The combination of the conical jaws and sleeve 0, provided with collars, with the frame Q and rollers y y.

7. The combination of the rotating chuck with the carrier and polishing-brush, and devices. substantially as described, for intermittently rotating said brush while it is in contact with the button.

8. The combination of the rotary chuck with the carrier and polishing-brush and presserj, substantially as described.

FELIX LOEPER.

Witnesses:

CARL MAX SOMZBART, O'rro VORBRODT. 

